


Covers and Cakes

by orphan_account



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Baker!Jack, M/M, Singer!Rhys, YouTube, Young Angel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7140149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack, a relatively famous YouTube baker, finds himself falling for another YouTuber, a cover artist named Rhys. So what does he decide to do? Bake him a cake for his PO box opening video. Jack doesn't realize, however, that that was the start of something more between the YouTubers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Covers and Cakes

**Author's Note:**

> So I was tagged over on Tumblr by my friends alex-the-winter-fox and leenhiddles to try my hand at writing out their YouTube AU. It was just a super cute idea, and what with me being a professional YouTuber myself, I couldn't resist giving it a bit of a go. I'm not sure if there will ever be any more written for this, as I do have a lot of other stuff I need to write, but who knows!
> 
> Again, this YouTube AU belongs to alex-the-winter-fox and leenhiddles over on Tumblr. Hope ya'll enjoy!

It was never within Jack’s intentions to get so invested into a fellow YouTuber. A _cover artist_ YouTuber, for that matter. YouTube was a minefield of competition and as far as Jack was concerned, _everyone_ was his competitor for viewers. Sure, they all had their own categories and their own respective fans. He didn’t exactly expect to get, say, the _creepypasta reader fans_ to click on his baking videos or anything. But hey, Jack was a competitive person, how _else_ was he supposed to look at it?

So when he started to get into this cute little singer named Rhys, it started to chafe on him a bit. He still stuck to his usual routine of videos: find or create a recipe, tweak it a bit, bake and record, then stow it away for editing the next day. Over and over every day. But now he was finding himself humming along to Rhys’ videos, swaying his body to the sweetly melodic voice of the young YouTuber, and, hell, even _buying_ his covers off of iTunes.

It started innocently enough. He was bored of his usual baking music and wanted something different but not _too_ different. So what better place to look than covers? They were familiar but had a nice change most of the time. A lot of people could (read: _tried_ to) sing on YouTube, apparently. It was like an ego-induced talent show that never seemed to end. Everyone and their grandmothers tried to make covers but only just a select few succeeded, Jack discovered.

One of the few Jack had found (after weeding through the terrible ones, that is) was, of course, Rhys. Jack wasn’t sure what he found himself more drawn to the moment that video started to play (once the ad had been skipped); Rhys’ slender and smooth face or Rhys’ delicate yet tenderly soulful voice.

Whatever it was, Jack was hooked. He totally _didn’t_ binge watch all of Rhys’ covers, resulting in a delayed video schedule that many of his loyal subscriber base noticed (he had over a couple hundred thousand subs, at least a _few_ were bound to notice), and he totally _**didn’t**_ start baking to them either.

It was an odd sort of excitement in which Jack planned to bake Rhys a cake for his first PO box opening video. Jack wasn’t sure he’d spent so long on any other cake than the one in question. It was in the shape of an acoustic guitar, the sugar-filled icing tinted light brown with hints of darker brown hues. In fact, when they mixed, they distinctly reminded Jack of Rhys’ auburn hair. But that was something to admire and contemplate after he was finished.

A steady hum rumbled Jack’s throat as Rhys’ cover of Unsteady by X Ambassadors wafted around Jack’s studio apartment, bouncing off the walls in pleasing echoes. As if Rhys’ voice couldn’t sound better, it was somehow amplified when Jack didn’t have his headphones plugged in.

“’… _Cause I’m a little unsteady. A little unsteady’_ ,” Jack murmured in a hummy tune as he leaned back to admire his work so far. The feeling of a self-satisfied grin began to play at his lips as he, once more, took in how the spongy treat looked just as appetizing as it did well crafted. That was _definitely_ a guitar cake that he wanted to dive right into and he knew that there was no way Rhys would be able to resist it either.

He had to hurry though. Rhys had posted a video just a week prior announcing the opening of his PO box and Jack had completely dropped the ball on getting around to making this cake. He wouldn’t _dare_ admit that he was nervous; Jack didn’t _get_ nervous about how good his baking was. He knew it was good. He just wanted to make sure it was perfect. Yeah. That was definitely it.

“Hey there guys!”

Suddenly, Jack’s eyebrows shot up as Rhys’ voice ( _not_ singing this time) greeted Jack’s ears, his eyes turning to face his MacBook to see a video that he didn’t recognize. And that was saying a lot, he’d watched Rhys’ videos pretty religiously (shut up). It took him a moment to realize Rhys had actually recently slipped this video into the current playlist he’d been playing the past hour or so.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he watched as Rhys continued on in front of his camera, which actually looked much clearer than his previous one, Jack noted. Did he get a new one?

“I just wanna start out by saying _thank you!_ Gah, thank you all… So, so much! You’re all awesome! It’s just so… Awesome! I uh… Don’t think I said awesome enough there, did I?”

A small and breathy yet playfully nervous chuckle left Rhys’ smiling lips before he was scratching at the back of his neck. Jack had to try and fight back a smile at the stupid little moment. Luckily the video cut forward a bit, as was with Rhys’ usual editing style in his non-cover videos.

“Anyway!” Rhys began once more immediately. “I seriously wanna thank you all for sending me this stuff to my PO box! I honestly _didn’t_ expect so much stuff already.”

It was then that Jack felt his stomach dropping in realization of what today was. It was Wednesday, the very day _after_ the one that Rhys said he was going to check his PO box. He’d completely let it slip, he was so busy trying to find the right recipe for this cake.

With a scowl, Jack immediately clicked away from the video, growling and slapping his palm against his eyes in frustration. How could he forget? How?

“ _Fucking! Idiot!_ ”

The next moment, there was a small and barely audible gasp followed by a sweet yet chiding voice, “ _Swear_ , daddy!”

Quickly and suddenly, Jack turned to look behind him. There stood his ten-year-old daughter, Angel, looking as though she’d just gotten off the bus from school. She still had her dark purple backpack clutched in her hand before she sat it on the floor.

Sighing, Jack shrugged slightly, “Sorry, pumpkin. Daddy’s… _Frustrated_.”

The hint of a smile began working its way onto his daughter’s pale face, scrunching the freckles found there as she began to giggle, “Is it because you’ve got stuff on your face? Is _that_ why you’re frustrated?”

The father furrowed his brows in confusion, not entirely sure what she was talking about– _oh_. **There** was the culprit. His fingers were coated with bits of icing and lingering flour, the very same fingers that had just slammed against his face. He probably looked like a cake raccoon.

Huffing a chuckle, Jack just moved over to the nearby counter within the kitchen, grabbing a small towel and wiping his face as he explained, “Just some issues with YouTube today, nothing to worry about. How was school, huh?”

Angel hummed as she moved closer to the table containing the guitar cake, “Hmmm, what’s this cake for?”

Jack scoffed, “Oh _I’m sorry_ , I thought we were talking about your day at school?”

“ _Oh!_ ” Angel peeped, continuing a bit sheepishly. “It was okay. Just school. So what’s the cake for?”

Rolling his eyes with a small smile, Jack shook his head as he pulled the towel away from his face, “None of your beeswax, princess. Now you got homework? And no fibbin’ flubbin’ to me, you _need_ to get your grades up.”

It seemed as though Angel was trying her best to prolong her answer, shifting on her feet before she was leaning her hands onto the table where the cake was laid. She didn’t look up, merely kept studying the guitar-shaped dessert, before a sly smile pulled at her lips.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me what the cake’s for,” Angel settled, her sweet tone becoming playfully devious.

Jack raised a pointed brow as he tossed the towel back onto the counter, “ _Uh-uh_ , ain’t gonna work like that. Do. You. Have. Homework.”

“What. Is. This. Cake. For,” Angel shot right back, daringly even.

“I’m _warning_ you, Angel Lawrence,” her father rebuked immediately, stepping closer. “Answer me. _Or else._ ”

Turning, Angel crossed her slender arms over her chest defiantly, staring up at him with determination in her eyes, “Or else _what?_ ”

“ _Or else **this!**_ ”

Immediately, Jack was rushing forward, grabbing his short daughter into his arms and growling playfully as she squealed and laughed in surprise. Jack’s fingers went to work at all the spots he knew by heart, tickling her without mercy as he lead them into the living room, tossing her down onto the couch before continuing his assault.

It was enough of a distraction for the moment, but that disappointment was still very much on his mind. He eventually _did_ get an answer from Angel. Of course she had homework and of course he made her do it right away. But he still didn’t answer her original question of who the cake was for.

Jack would just have to hope that Rhys would do another PO box video soon and he’d get his cake before it went bad or anything of the like. Jack, for all his experience in baking, was not necessarily the most _patient_ person.

***

After Jack had gotten his frustrations at himself down ( _mostly_ , anyway), he went back to watch the rest of the PO box video, to which Rhys announced he’d be doing PO box openings at the end of every week. That had given Jack the proper determination to finish the cake, pack it up properly, and send it out to Rhys.

It was easy to tell that Jack was definitely distracted in his videos that followed. Although he did his best to keep up the persona he’d created for his channel, and he was professional on at least some level, it was still hard to think of anything else other than that PO box video. Was Rhys opening it right now? Had he already recorded the video? Did he eat it? Was it good?

Of course it was good and of course he probably already opened it. _Of course_ Jack already knew the answers to all those questions but it didn’t stop them from plaguing his thoughts nonetheless.

“And that’s gonna be it for this, uh…” Jack paused, trailing off as he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He quickly shook off the momentary delay before continuing. “This one! Thanks, _as always_ , for hanging and baking with good ol’ Jack. See ya around, kiddos.”

The moment his outro was done, he sighed, letting himself deflate into just Jack. Not Jack the baker as YouTube knew, but as Jack with anticipation heavy on his mind. Without thinking much of it, Jack reached forward, turning off the camera before retrieving his phone. The next moment, his eyes widened as he realized it was a notification from YouTube. Rhys uploaded the PO box video.

Jack wasn’t sure he’d ever clicked on a notification faster in his entire life, his usually quick phone suddenly lagging as it tried to pull up the video. Jack bit his lip in frustration at the device, sighing heavily as an ad began to play. An ad that he _couldn’t_ skip until fifteen whole seconds in. How was it that fifteen seconds ended up being so damn _torturous?_

“C'mon, _c'mon!_ ” Jack growled, growing more impatient as the long fifteen seconds dragged by. “Holy shit, I don’t care about your stupid– _gah!_ _**Finally!**_ ”

The video started with a simple fade in and Rhys settled in a chair. His room was quite blindingly white, as always, the walls only interrupted with several pictures which Jack could never properly make out. They always looked like some photos of Rhys himself along with other friends, but Jack was never sure. Directly behind him was his bed, covered this time in lilac, silk covers.

Rhys himself was dressed in a deep blue plaid shirt, covered by a grey jacket, his hair slicked back as usual and his mismatched eyes shining as they always did. His smile grew as the video faded in, his melodic voice carrying his intro into place.

Jack found himself slowly smiling as Rhys went on thanking his subscribers for all their support and the even bigger batch of things that were sent his way. Slowly but surely, he started going through them. They were a mixture of different things. Some were portraits of Rhys himself, a note attached asking for his signature, and some were homemade gifts and even flowers.

Eventually, Rhys reached down and pulled up something very, _very_ familiar. It was a plain cardboard box that Jack recognized right away. It was the very box that he’d shipped the cake in.

“Okay, _wow_ ,” Rhys began after a small laugh. “I think this one’s the biggest yet. Should I shake it?”

Suddenly, the video cut to Rhys giving it a small shake and Jack had a momentary cringe as he imagined the icing being ruined at the motion. He couldn’t know exactly how hard and how long he shook the box due to the power of editing, but _God_ did he hope that it didn’t ruin anything. Well, anything more than the delivery of the cake already had.

Yet another cut and Rhys was reaching down into the box on the floor before him, his body popping back up with the considerably sized white box. Rhys just laughed again.

“A box _inside_ a box,” Rhys mused, a mix between amusement and puzzlement. “I swear, if this is just a lot of boxes inside other boxes, I’m gonna hunt you down, whoever you are. _I mean it!_ ”

“Maybe I _should’ve_ done that then,” Jack murmured to himself in amusement. “Thanks for the idea, pumpkin.”

“ _Oh!_ ” Rhys exclaimed suddenly. “Hey, there’s a note in the bigger box. Alright, cool! Let’s see what it says.”

Jack had honestly almost forgotten that he’d written Rhys a note. It was just a simple little note and he’d been sure to keep it anonymous. Not that he was scared to make himself known to Rhys. It just seemed a little more… _Fun_ this way. _Definitely_ more fun.

Another cut later, Rhys had the note open, his eyes scanning it for a moment before his lips spread into a grin as he read out loud, “ _'To my one and only favorite YouTube artist. You never fail to make my day.‘_ ”

Slowly, Rhys’ grin began to fall, his eyebrows furrowing as he turned the small note over and studied it carefully before looking back to the camera, “They didn’t sign it… Well, wish I knew who exactly to thank. Guess we’ll see what they sent here.”

There was no stopping the growing grin on Jack’s face as the video cut once more to Rhys’ face lighting up the moment he opened the white box containing the cake. His eyebrows climbed up his forehead as he eyed the cake, his mouth open wide in surprise.

“Don’t drool all over it now, ya _dum dum_ ,” Jack chuckled to himself as he shook his head, utterly pleased with Rhys’ absolutely damn adorable reaction. It was worth it. All the waiting, impatience, and work was worth it just to see his reaction.

“Guys, look at this amazing cake!” Rhys suddenly went on as the video cut once more as he brought the cake into the video of the camera. “This is amazing! Oh my God, it looks so, _so_ good! I just…”

As Rhys lowered the cake down onto his lap, he continued to look down at it, his lips pursing tightly as he went silent for several long moments. This reaction had been so much more than what Jack had ever expected or asked for. It was just so real and genuine. Jack just liked him that much more for it.

“God, I just,” Rhys finally began again, turning his eyes back up to the camera. “I’m so grateful. To whoever made this cake, to all of you. I wouldn’t be here right now, doing what I do, if it weren’t for all of you. Whoever made this cake, you said I never fail to make your day, well that goes _right_ back to you. Because people like you are what makes my life so much better. So seriously. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to eat it!”

Although Jack was slightly disappointed that Rhys moved on to the remaining gifts, he got what he wanted out of that. In fact, he got so much more than he’d expected. To see Rhys react in such a way was more than he could’ve asked for. Just to see Rhys happy was _more_ than enough for Jack.

Finally, as the video ended, Jack scrolled down to hit the thumbs up button and scrolled down even further to the empty comment box. Already Jack knew his comment was probably going to be buried in all the other comments rolling in (Rhys _did_ have nearly a million subscribers, after all), but he didn’t care.

As the touchscreen keyboard came up, he began typing out his comment, smiling to himself all the while.

_'Wow, that sure was a great cake you got there, kiddo. Gotta wonder who baked it huh? ;)’_

Was it dumb of Jack to be grinning like an idiot right now? _Probably_. Rhys more than likely wouldn’t even see his comment. And Jack knew that in reality? He was nothing more than another viewer to Rhys and that’s all he’d ever be. Just another YouTuber that he’d never get the chance to cross paths with. And honestly, maybe Jack would’ve been okay with that. But there was one thing he didn’t know right then.

Rhys _definitely_ saw his comment.


End file.
